NHSC Mission

The New Hampshire Socialist Coalition was founded upon three broad objectives that serve as guide and purpose for all our operations:

Welcome Home

The NHSC is intended to offer an open political home for Granite State (and northern Massachusetts) socialists who are unsure which existing party is the best fit, along with those who do not wish to formally join a political party or tendency. Many of us actually do belong to one or more existing socialist organizations, but we do not believe party membership is a requirement for joining the fight for a better world after the death of capitalism. Independent socialists working with the NHSC will not be pressured to join any organization. We encourage vigorous and constant political debate that may, at times, involve the positions of one group versus those of another (we are leftists, after all), and we understand that parties will distribute their own literature as a standard practice – but the partisans among us will not be permitted to reduce NHSC meetings or initiatives to craven opportunities for recruitment.

The New Hampshire Socialist Coalition does not collect dues payments.

Find What’s Missing

Despite the heartening facts regarding sheer amount of amazing radical work that’s being done all over the place – including New Hampshire – by a very small number of very committed radical organizers and activists, existing parties and groups can’t possibly be everywhere all the time, covering all bases, and aside from the issues that fall into the “progressive” bucket, we can’t count on the liberals to pick up our slack.

The NHSC is itself, of course, another small group, and one whose ranks include several of the same people already working under other banners. We are not so arrogant as to believe ourselves capable of plugging the gaps. But the fact that we are not subject to priorities established by a central national party body, coupled with our unique model for initiative engagement (more on this below), allows us a greater degree of objectivity with which to identify areas of political need, along with the flexibility to execute on addressing those needs.

What we collectively identify is likely to vary widely – from new rural outreach programs to radical service projects that directly assist the poor and oppressed, from independent podcast production to a strategic engagement of local media designed to develop best practices to pass along to all our partners. We aim to take the lead on identifying promising electoral opportunities for socialists, putting the call out to all the parties in search of a viable candidate and, if possible, fielding one from our own ranks. There is much to be done, and these are but a few possible examples of the ways in which we seek to deploy our resources in the areas of greatest need.

Neutral Turf, Network Hub

Since the election of Donald Trump, there have been some positive signs when it comes to cooperation – or at least basic communication – between the different socialist parties and tendencies. We seek to encourage, facilitate, and ultimately systematize this communication throughout New England by serving as a neutral, non-competitive venue through which all of the groups might form a network in good faith and with reduced suspicion.

If the radical left can communicate among its many parts, those parts can slowly learn to cooperate; if the radical left can foster even loose cooperation among its many parts, those parts can eventually learn to collaborate. We don’t – and won’t – always agree. But we do have a lot of work to do right now, and most of it is comprised of basic things we actually do agree on. The NHSC seeks to be an active part of that process. Our collective victory and perhaps even survival depends on it.